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Related Concept Videos

General Structure of a Vertebra01:30

General Structure of a Vertebra

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A typical vertebra, with the exception of the sacrum and coccyx, consists of a body, a vertebral arch, and seven different projections termed processes. The anterior portion of the vertebrae, the body, supports about half the body’s weight. The vertebral bodies progressively increase in size and thickness from the cervical region to the lumbar region of the vertebral column. The intervertebral discs present between the bodies of adjacent vertebrae firmly unites them, forming a continuous...
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In addition to being held together by the intervertebral discs, adjacent vertebrae also articulate with each other at synovial joints formed between the superior and inferior articular processes called zygapophysial joints (facet joints). These are plane joints that provide for only limited motions between the vertebrae. The orientation of the articular processes at these joints varies in different regions of the vertebral column and serves to determine the types of motions available in each...
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The back muscles that lie deep into the thoracolumbar fascia are called intrinsic or true back muscles. These muscles are divided into four layers: superficial, intermediate, deep, and deepest layers.
Superficial Layer:
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The vertebral column or spine is a flexible column that supports the head, neck, and body and  allows for their movements. It also protects the spinal cord.
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As the name indicates, at a cartilaginous joint, the adjacent bones are united by cartilage, a tough but flexible type of connective tissue. Unlike synovial joints, these types of joints lack a joint cavity and involve bones joined together by either hyaline cartilage or fibrocartilage.
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The muscles that move the head are a dynamic and complex group of structures that work together to facilitate a wide range of head movements, including rotation, flexion, extension, and lateral bending.
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A neck-like vertebral motion in fish.

Ariel L Camp1,2

  • 1Department of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|August 25, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fish control head movement differently than tetrapods. Instead of a neck, fish use their entire vertebral column, including many vertebrae, to elevate their heads during feeding.

Keywords:
XROMMcranial elevationcraniovertebralfrogfishintervertebral jointtrout

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Area of Science:

  • Comparative Anatomy
  • Vertebrate Paleontology
  • Biomechanics

Background:

  • Tetrapods possess a distinct neck for three-dimensional head movement.
  • Fish lack a neck but exhibit head elevation during feeding.
  • The function of craniovertebral joints in fish head elevation is debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that craniovertebral joints act as a neck in fish.
  • To measure three-dimensional vertebral kinematics during feeding in fish.
  • To compare head-body motion mechanisms between fish and tetrapods.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology (XROM) for in vivo kinematic analysis.
  • Studied rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Commerson's frogfish (Antennarius commerson) during feeding.
  • Quantified three-dimensional vertebral rotations across the spine.

Main Results:

  • Cranial elevation in both species involved extensive dorsoventral rotations beyond craniovertebral joints.
  • Trout used numerous small rotations (<3°) across many vertebrae.
  • Frogfish employed large rotations (20-30°) at the craniovertebral joint and adjacent vertebrae, with smaller rotations along the rest of the spine.

Conclusions:

  • Fish utilize large regions of their vertebral column, not just the craniovertebral joints, for head rotation.
  • This mechanism differs significantly from the neck-based locomotion in tetrapods.
  • Understanding head-body motion in non-tetrapods requires considering both cranial and caudal vertebrae.